Charles Gibbs letter

The Newton Record

NEWTON October 18, 2006 12:24 pm

— To the Editor
On page 30, in note 11, the fiscal year 2004 audit report made reference to an open investigation on former District 4 Supervisor L.M. “Bubba” Bonds. On August 1, 2006, the Newton County Board of Supervisors was notified by letter from the Office of the State Auditor that the investigation had been completed. The letter stated that the investigation on Mr. Bonds was for alleged misuse of public funds. The letter further stated, “After a thorough investigation of the complaint and with legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General, it was determined that the Newton County Board of Supervisors is to take corrective action.” The funds in question were related to a FEMA grant received for the 2003 flood. Mr. Bonds was to repair several roads with over $270,000 in federal money. Some of the sites were repaired. However, a large portion of the money was spent on Red Hat Road. This road was not designated as a repair site under the FEMA grant. Although it is considered a public road, the last 1.4 miles of the 2.1 mile road has no houses on it. The road ends at a private hunting club. I, Charles Gibbs, the current district 4 supervisor, had to take the corrective action. Upon taking office, FEMA officials demanded that I complete the repairs at the designated sites or district 4 would have to repay the federal government. Since Mr. Bonds spent all of the federal money, I had to borrow money to repair the sites. One site was Tanglewood Road. FEMA advanced Mr. Bonds $31,655 for repairs. Because Mr. Bonds allowed Tanglewood Road to remain unrepaired for such a long time, the damage to the road worsened. I spent $60,363 repairing this road. Therefore, it cost the citizens of Newton County $92,018 ($31,655 advanced and spent elsewhere plus $60,363 in repair costs) to correct this problem.
The state’s matching share of the FEMA grant totaling over $267,000 for all 5 districts had been held pending the outcome of this investigation. Since the Office of the State Auditor has concluded its investigation and since I had already taken the corrective action necessary (according to the State Auditor’s office), this money has been released. The county expects payment in the near future.
The Office of the State Auditor did not charge Mr. Bonds with any wrongdoing because all of the money was spent on “public roads”. However, citizens of district 4, as well as the entire county, paid the penalty in increased repair costs.
Sincerely,
Charles Gibbs
District 4 Supervisor